Book Design

In future posts I'm going to look at examples of the design of books, and as well as other media. My interest is in better understanding how people create and use authored media and how it can be designed to better support existing and future uses. In particular, I'm interested in

+ reading is a reflective activity, not just an experiential one

+ intended vs. actual usage and interpretation of authored works

+ reading as construction rather than instruction

+ reading as collaborative, not just individual

+ relationship between content and format

+ continuous acquisition(flowing narrative without breaks) vs. discontinuous acquisition

+ linear acquisition(read from start to finish, only one proper navigation) vs. non-linear acquisition

+ affordances of paper and electronic media

Ideas worth spreading

TED is an annual conference that "brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)." The mission of TED is to spread powerful ideas. One of the ways they do this is by posting videos of the talks on their website.

{1} What makes TED talks so great?

(i) The subjects of the talks are powerful ideas. They are "ideas worth spreading". They are of that special type of idea that changes the world and will continue to change it. They are meaningful to many different people in many different contexts, with far reaching applications. Example: Barry Shwartz talks about "The Paradox of Choice". He says Western society tends to assume that more choice leads to better lives. But Shwartz gives compelling evidence that too much choice makes us miserable. Sociologists, psychologists, designers should all find this work relevent...so should all people who make choices in their daily lives.

(ii) Not only are the TED talk ideas WORTH spreading, but they are SPREADABLE. Many ideas aren't very spreadable. Most ideas aren't even valuable. Many of those that are of value are too difficult to explain - they may require too much background knowledge, they may be too boring to get someone interested, they may not even be completely understood enough to easily communicate them well. TED talks have the property that you can summarize the talk in a simple and intuitive way that still captures the power of the idea behind the talk.
For example, the point of Sir Ken Robinson's talk is that children are born creative. They all have natural, unique talents. But schools educate them out of their natural creativity. Schools force conformity rather than helping kids to discover their talents. So... schools should STOP killing creativity, and we should aid children in discovering, utilizing and enjoying their natural talents. With only five sentences and I just explained the meat of Sir Ken's talk. Of course there's more. Sir Robinson gives wonderful stories and examples to make his point... these not only serve to support and elucidate his idea but they make his talk engaging and entertaining.


(iii)
The final important aspect is that the ideas are shared. They post the talk online under Creative Commons. People love them, or sometimes hate them, but I suspect they are almost always moved in some way by them. The powerful idea behind sharing powerful ideas it that powerful ideas breed powerful ideas & powerful action, hopefully ideas and action that makes the world a better place.

{2} Beyond TED talks.

The secret to TED talks is simple
(i) get some very smart people to generate powerful ideas
(ii) make sure the ideas lend themselves to being communicated clearly and in an engaging way
(iii) communicate them (e.g. free podcasts under a creative commons license)

If a "TED talk" is anything that realizes i-iii, we could ask:
1. What other content should have "TED talks"?
2. How and where can we funnel the engagement initiated by "TED talks"?

Playgrounds that make water!

These merry-go-rounds pump water out of the ground as children spin around on them. 500 of these pumps are currently installed in sub-Saharan Africa to help solve the clean water crises there. Check out the video from Frontline. Some notable characteristics of the system...

low-tech solution
It uses relatively simple and reliable technology to solve a serious problem. It reminds us that there are so many the lack the most basic of needs; the technology to address them is there and has been for a long time.

exploits (enjoyable) physical labor
Often we equate progress with the reduction of physical labor. Yet, many of the most enjoyable things we do involve physical work. The playpump wonderfully integrates the need for fresh water with the desire to play.

closed-loop system
The system is self-sustaining beyond it's innovative use of play as labor. Revenues from ad-space on the pump towers supports pump maintenance. Some ads also promote AIDS awareness to the children playing on the pumps.

aesthetic of integrated, well-maintained system
Children having fun as they pump their own drinking water is not just smart, it's beautiful. Sustainability should not be simply about avoiding the undesirable and reacting to crises, but creating a world of beauty and abundance. The look of the playpump may not be sexy enough for most American playgrounds, but the idea behind it is something that I'm sure many people can appreciate on an aesthetic level.

(relatively) sexy
I suspect a large part of the reason the playpump has received public attention, such as support from prominent figures like Jay-Z and First Lady Laura Bush, is that it is such a "neat" idea. The play pump story is a little more sexy them some equally important projects such as the work that Amy Smith or Brian Freling is doing. Although it's a shame, people are more likely to support fun projects because they make addressing real-need less depressing.


Summing up - The play pump highlights several qualities that design, for both the "developed" and "developing" worlds, can benefit from. In particular, I think the creative exploitation of physical labor as well as the aesthetic qualities of sustainable systems have great potential that has yet to be explored and realized.